Sports, politics, and culture in seven succinct sections!

Month: September 2016

Just to be clear, I am not on Donald Trump’s prep team for tonight’s highly anticipated debate, nor do I want to be a help to his efforts. However, after reading his comments about how African-Americans have never had it worse, I thought I might share a few instances where things might arguably have been a little worse, so that the next time this comes up, he can be better prepared to respond.

I. 1787

According to our new nation’s Constitution, Black people are to count as three fifths of a person.

II. 1865

On January 1st, 1865 the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery (after 246 years), but many Blacks were not immediately told, some not receiving word until as late as June 19th…which led to the celebration, initially popularized in Texas and other southern states, of “Juneteenth.”

III. 1892

There were 161 reported lynchings of Blacks in this year.

IV. 1921

Envious of the tremendous across the board success and economic self-sufficiency of the neighborhood dubbed “Black Wall Street,” the Klan and other racists killed many people and violently destroyed this thriving Tulsa community.

V. 1945

Although Black soldiers fought and died across the globe for freedom, Blacks were unable to pursue a career in Major League Baseball. It would be two years before Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers.

VI. 1955-1956

After the arrest of Rosa Parks, Blacks are forced to boycott Montgomery, AL buses for nearly thirteen months in protest of the segregated seating policies and horrific treatment.

VII. 1963-1968

Medgar Evers, Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley (the four young ladies at Sunday School in Birmingham), Viola Luozzo, Jimmie Lee Jackson, Rev. Jim Reeb, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. among others were killed by people attempting to thwart the pursuit of justice for all.

I’m not sure, given the history of the relationships between Alex Rodriguez and both MLB and the Yankees during 2014 and 2013, that there could have been a better send-off for A-Rod than that which he got. Unless they had let him first stick around to get the four homers that would bring him to 700, a milestone number only reached by Barry Bonds, Henry Aaron and Babe Ruth.

It had to have been hard for Yankee manager Joe Girardi, a former teammate of A-Rod and his manager during the last World Series championship season of 2009, to come to the conclusion that this guy who carried the team for stretches as late as last year could no longer consistently help the team more than as a wise clubhouse veteran. Then, when management decided to go youth, they probably didn’t foresee the team hanging in the wild card race nonetheless.

If they had, I wonder if they wouldn’t have put A-Rod on the disabled list with a broken fingernail or something like that until the September expansion of rosters. He might have been an interesting guy to have on the bench for a long ball situation down the stretch.

II. Mets & Royals

If they ended the season today, both 2015 World Series teams would be watching the postseason from home. Maybe neither was a truly outstanding team – certainly the Mets were not prior to acquiring Yoenis Cespedes – but the point is that teams should always try to give themselves a chance to make the playoffs until there is no hope. Once in the playoffs you never know what can happen. We all know the San Francisco Giants are in that mindset, especially since this is an even-numbered year.

III. Walls Of Jericho

I’m still trying to figure out when Barack Obama co-founded ISIS along with Hillary Clinton, as stated by Donald Trump. Was it when they were in the Senate together, or was it during a quiet moment while they were campaigning against each other in 2008, or possibly even when he was President and she was Secretary of State?

And regarding that oft-mentioned wall that the President of Mexico has confirmed they will not pay for…why would they pay for a walk to keep in the murderers and rapists Trump has said Mexico is sending over? If Trump had happened to be right in saying that, the last thing they would want to do is keep such criminals in.

Of course, since Trump was wrong in saying that, one has to ask if he was intentionally lying, or just mis-informed again? One thing is for certain: had Obama campaigned with as little competence and knowledge as Trump has shown, he would have lost by a landslide.

IV. Registration and ID, Please

I so wish our Republican friends were as vigilant about easing voters’ access to the polls (instead of curtailing early and weekend access) as they are about using voter ID laws to combat “voter fraud” (which happens about as often as a Cubs World Series win). As we approach this election, know that there’s a reason they don’t want certain people voting…and act accordingly.

V. Note 7

The expression “blowing up,” as in “so and so is blowing up,” is taking on a whole new meaning – or maybe just the old one – with respect to Samsung’s Note 7.

VI. Colin Kaepernick

Why does it seem people are more upset about Colin Kaepernick sitting and kneeling during the national anthem than they were about all of the deaths of the people of color that Kaepernick is attempting to call attention to?

Why, for some people, is protest with regard to African-Americans always wrong? BLM: too violent (though it isn’t). Kaepernick (who killed nor injured no one): unpatriotic (though he isn’t). For the record, an attempt to move our country closer to fulfilling its ideals is actually the definition of patriotism and love of country, not standing silently when a song is played and again when injustice is done.

VII. Doc

Let’s hope Darryl is wrong about Doc’s addiction, and if he isn’t, let’s pray he gets the help he needs.